Welcome to Part 2 of my incredible interview with Christopher Sean, who plays Paul Narita on Days of Our Lives and Gabriel Waincroft on Hawaii Five-0.  Christopher was so generous with his time and shared so much, openly and honestly.  Please enjoy the continuation of this outstanding interview.  If you missed Part 1, you will find it on the previous post at Carolyn Topol Talk.

Carolyn Topol Talk:  I won’t ask you any particulars then, but I will ask, vaguely, have you needed or wanted to watch upcoming days you are now filming as Paul is getting a more involved storyline?  Your fans want to know if you are going to be on more. So, are you at a place when you find yourself more engrossed in the episodes that we have yet to see?

Christopher Sean:  The answer, vaguely, [laughs] so I don’t get in trouble… Now that Freddie [Smith-Sonny on Days of Our Lives] is back, I’m really enjoying the sustenance of dialogue that the writers are providing me for Paul Narita. I’m flexing that acting muscle once again. It’s pretty good.

CTT:  Sounds promising!  Going forward, I know you have a production company. Do you have more interest in working behind the scenes, as a writer or director for example, for that company — and what are you working on for your own production company?

CS:  For my old production company, I produced a feature film that I wrote, directed parts of, starred in, and executive produced with my business partner. We split everything 50-50. We made a feature film that was really awesome. It was a parody of Twilight and fell into a lawsuit that I can’t really talk too much about, but it was a lot of fun. Warner Brothers picked it up for distribution, and I think Lions Gate now has acquired it. Whatever they want to do with it, that’s now their choice. However, I got a taste of reality.

Remember, I said earlier about the catch-22 of a new actor, with a unique look, that Hollywood was not ready for? For about 10 years it was an uphill battle. Essentially you have to pave your own path. I can’t expect great scripts to come my way, and great work to come my way, or share a vision with someone who doesn’t see as I do. I have to create it. I have to make my own way knowing that no one has ever lived the life of me, or you. All of us have our own experiences and if we were to read our diaries out loud, everyone else would [think], “I walked a parallel journey except.” The great thing about that, however many people share the same paths, we all see things differently. My job now is to just pave the path for Asian-American actors, mixed breed, ethnically ambiguous actors, to be presentable in a way that I can be a role model to the children who didn’t have a role model. My role models were either martial artists or white actors. I didn’t really have [a role model who was] a mix of the two. I’m a green-eyed Asian-American. You don’t hire me for the stereotypical computer geek, photographer tourist, or whatever, so I have to make roles for myself. For the most part, the only way I can see roles for myself is mostly far in the future. So I’m trying to write roles for myself like that of the Fifth Element or roles that are sci-fi based — further in the future, where I’m socially accepted.

CTT:  That makes a lot of sense.

CS:  After the time that had been difficult, it was really rough. I had to live in my truck. I’m just glad that’s in the past.

CTT:  I’m just glad you’re now in a much better position.

CS:  It’s the fans — it really is! The fans of the show [DOOL] keep me on. They continue to talk positively about what I do. The producers see that and keep me on, and continue to write for me. I kid you not, I get talked to by the producers and directors — they say, “Christopher, the fans love you. We’re going to get more work for you. We promise. It’s just slow now.” Most every week they talk to me about how much the fans are writing in and saying great things about me — so, really, it’s the fans that keep me working and I can’t give back enough.

CTT:  That leads into just what I was going to ask next. I noticed that you and your girlfriend, Laneya [Arvizu], are both very generous with your fans. You’re constantly taking the time to respond to their tweets on Twitter and frequently share your adventures on Periscope, and now the new Instagram Stories. How do you negotiate the time?

CS:  Well, as I said, everything about where I am is because of the people who enjoy my work, so it’s very important for me, not to cater to the fans because then I wouldn’t have a life, but definitely give it back as much as I can. Every morning I get up and I do my workouts trying to get my head on straight and then I get back to the fans at least an hour or two a day. It’s like a part-time job. I look at it as a mandatory chit-chatting. I look at it as a mandatory thing just like the gym is a mandatory thing. I must work out and I must talk to the fans so that I feel mentally and physically secure, and the fans are also getting a little bit of love.

Love is so important.

CTT:  I think that’s terrific. Like I said, as a fan of yours I’m grateful, and I think it’s lovely that you interact genuinely which is really very special.

CS:  I grew up with a lot of tribulations; a lot of issues. I love my family don’t get me wrong, but in a military family you move often, and you have to start over often. Sometimes starting over often, and not in the nicest of neighborhoods means a lot of conflict and confrontation. So I grew up in slightly rougher neighborhoods and a slightly harsher household with mental illness around. I have a sister with Down Syndrome, who I absolutely love and who has molded me into who I am now. I am deeply rooted, more so than a shallow person. It’s not about aesthetics for me. Tweets, and what people say online, really reflect how they feel and show the characteristics of who they are. I try my best to reach out and give a little bit of a shining positivity in their lives — a light at the end of the tunnel for those people who see no hope. And then they can say, “Oh my God, this guy on TV just said something to me.” That’s wonderful and if they say, “He said something to me that’s inspiring me to work harder,” that’s even cooler. I think that’s my duty as an actor. It’s like I’ve been given a platform to speak, and this platform is very important for me to choose words wisely. The words that I do choose are very inspirational. I’m always aspiring to be like, it’s not just do as I say, it’s do as I do. Every single day I work hard, and I think, if I can do it, anybody can do it.

CTT:  Well I’m not sure [anybody can to it], but we do appreciate what you do!

CS:  [Laughs] Well, thank you. Honestly, I think of myself as just a regular guy with a cool job. I’m just a regular dude, and growing up in different cultures — in Japan and in the Philippines and then in Mississippi. And when I was in Mississippi there was a lot of racism. I would come home from school and my parents would [ask], “What happened?” I would say, “Mom, what’s a Chink?” and she would say, “Oh, don’t worry, son, you’re a Jap,” and I would say, “Okay, cool.” Then I would come home the next day with a black eye and say, “I told them I was a Jap and they beat me up — like, what the heck!” It’s funny, but at the same time it’s serious because there’s always humor in life. Life is always against us, until it’s not. Even when it’s not, it’s still against us — it’s really about, is the glass half full, or is the glass half empty.

CTT:  One of the things that I admire, as a fan of yours, is the way I’ve seen you are with your sister. You clearly have a very good relationship with her.

CS:  It’s a challenge in its own sense. You have to have more patience and more understanding. You have to be willing to sacrifice yourself and put yourself in the other person’s shoes. What is it that they need, what is it that they want — not what do I need, and what do I want from them. It’s what do you need. It kind of goes back to the fans. How can I help you? And in each case it’s different. In each case it’s my job to sometimes go on a deep, deep level and find the roots of certain things with some people. Sometimes it’s just a quick, “Hey, how are you. I hope you have a great day.” Sometimes a quick smile is all they need. Other times it’s let’s talk; what’s going on?

CTT:  You are one of the first ones on Days to really reach out to your fans in an organic way, on a regular basis. I think a lot of members of the cast are emulating what you do.

CS:  That’s really cool. It’s nice to hear that. Thank you very much.

Have you ever read the book The Five Love Languages?

CTT:  I know of the book; I have not read it.

CS:  I haven’t read it either. [Laughs] But I read the Cliff Notes. [Lots of laughing] It’s pretty easy if you could look at it as, you receive love and you give love in different ways. I guess, for me there’s words of affirmation, there is quality time, there’s acts of service, there is gifts, and there’s physical touch. Those are the five languages of love. For me, I give love through acts of service and words of affirmation. And I buy people things. I’m always buying people things — let me buy you dinner, let me buy you drinks, whatever. I guess I buy things, and I do acts of service. I’m, also, always giving words of affirmation. And of course, there’s what you receive. But those are the five languages of love. When you start to understand that, you start you get better at figuring out what people need — and, again, it’s case-by-case.

CTT:  Absolutely!

And now let’s take a turn to some more lighthearted questions. The first one, originally suggested by my daughter, has become a fun, ongoing interview edition… What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

CS:  Oh hmm… My favorite flavor of ice cream — oh man, I love ice cream so much! There’s Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked. It’s out of control! [Laughs]

CTT:  And in sports, what’s your favorite to watch, and what’s your favorite to play?

CS:  I love playing basketball. In fact, I played basketball just the other day. I hadn’t played basketball in a long time, but I got on the court and it felt so nice to run around out there… And not suck. [Laughs] What I’d like to watch — it depends who I’m hanging out with. I like to watch basketball and I love hockey. If they like hockey, I like hockey. If they love football, I love football — whatever they want to watch. I don’t really have too much time to just sit around and watch sports, but when I’m doing or spending time with somebody I love, then it’s whatever they want.

When I’m with the boys — Samuel, he likes to wrestle and we screw around and have fun. Tommy and I simply play basketball together. Tori likes quality time and words of affirmation. She loves drawing Anime, and I love to praise her work. She really is a talented Anime artist. [Laughs quietly] I’m going off on the family thing here because we’re going to see the kids tomorrow and I’m really excited.

*****

It was a pleasure to listen to Christopher Sean’s heartfelt words of appreciation for all that he currently has in his life.  It was evident how much he genuinely appreciates his family, friends, and his fans. However, I was moved by how his tone warmed even further when he spoke of “our kids” looking forward to an upcoming visit with Laneya’s children.

Thank you to Christopher Sean for sharing his time with Carolyn Topol Talk, so this inspirational interview can be shared with all of you!

(Photo Credits: Brad Everett Young, Christopher Sean, CarolynTopolTalk.com)